(1) For filing, recording, indexing, preserving a record of and issuing a certificate relating to the formation, amendment, change of name, registration of trade name, merger, consolidation, conversion, renewal, dissolution, termination, cancellation, withdrawal revocation and reinstatement of business entities organized within the state, as follows:
(A) Articles of incorporation of for-profit
corporation$50.00
(B) Articles of incorporation of nonprofit
corporation25.00
(C) Articles of organization of limited liability
company100.00
(D) Agreement of a general partnership50.00
(E) Certificate of a limited partnership100.00
(F) Agreement of a voluntary association50.00
(G) Articles of organization of a business trust50.00
(H) Amendment or correction of articles of incorporation, including change of name or increase of capital stock, in addition to any applicable license tax25.00
(I) Amendment or correction, including change of name, of articles of organization of business trust, limited liability partnership, limited liability company or professional limited liability company or of certificate of limited partnership or agreement of voluntary association25.00
(J) Amendment and restatement of articles of incorporation, certificate of limited partnership, agreement of voluntary association or articles of organization of limited liability partnership, limited liability company or professional limited liability company or business trust25.00
(K) Registration of trade name, otherwise designated as a true name, fictitious name or D.B.A. (doing business as) name for any domestic business entity as permitted by law25.00
(L) Articles of merger of two corporations, limited partnerships, limited liability partnerships, limited liability companies or professional limited liability companies, voluntary associations or business trusts.25.00
(M) Plus for each additional party to the merger in excess of two. . . .15.00
(N) Statement of conversion, when permitted, from one business entity into another business entity, in addition to the cost of filing the appropriate documents to organize the surviving entity 25.00
(O) Articles of dissolution of a corporation, voluntary association or business trust, or statement of dissolution of a general partnership25.00
(P) Revocation of voluntary dissolution of a corporation, voluntary association or business trust15.00
(Q) Articles of termination of a limited liability company, cancellation of a limited partnership or statement of withdrawal of limited liability partnership25.00
(R) Reinstatement of a limited liability company or professional limited liability company after administrative dissolution25.00
(2) For filing, recording, indexing, preserving a record of and issuing a certificate relating to the registration, amendment, change of name, merger, consolidation, conversion, renewal, withdrawal or termination within this state of business entities organized in other states or countries, as follows:
(A) Certificate of authority of for-profit corporation
$100.00
(B) Certificate of authority of nonprofit corporation
50.00
(C) Certificate of authority of foreign limited liability companies150.00
(D) Certificate of exemption from certificate of authority
25.00
(E) Registration of a general partnership50.00
(F) Registration of a limited partnership150.00
(G) Registration of a limited liability partnership for two-year term500.00
(H) Registration of a voluntary association50.00
(I) Registration of a trust or business trust50.00
(J) Amendment or correction of certificate of authority of a foreign corporation, including change of name or increase of capital stock, in addition to any applicable license tax25.00
(K) Amendment or correction of certificate of limited partnership, limited liability partnership, limited liability company or professional limited liability company, voluntary association or business trust25.00
(L) Registration of trade name, otherwise designated as a true name, fictitious name or D.B.A. (doing business as) name for any foreign business entity as permitted by law25.00
(M) Amendment and restatement of certificate of authority or of registration of a corporation, limited partnership, limited liability partnership, limited liability company or professional limited liability company, voluntary association or business trust
25.00
(N) Articles of merger of two corporations, limited partnerships, limited liability partnerships, limited liability companies or professional limited liability companies, voluntary associations or business trusts25.00
(O) Plus for each additional party to the merger in excess
of two5.00
(P) Statement of conversion, when permitted, from one business entity into another business entity, in addition to the cost of filing the appropriate articles or certificate to organize the surviving entity25.00
(Q) Certificate of withdrawal or cancellation of a corporation, limited partnership, limited liability partnership, limited liability company, voluntary association or business trust
25.00
Notwithstanding any other provision of this section to the contrary, after the thirtieth day of June, two thousand eight, the fees described in this subdivision that are collected for the issuance of a certificate relating to the initial registration of a corporation, limited partnership, domestic limited liability company or foreign limited liability company shall be deposited in the general administrative fees account established by this section.
(3) For receiving, filing and recording a change of the principal or designated office, change of the agent of process and/or change of officers, directors, partners, members or managers, as the case may be, of a corporation, limited partnership, limited liability partnership, limited liability company or other business entity as provided by law$15.00
(4) For receiving, filing and preserving a reservation of a name for each one hundred twenty days or for any other period in excess of seven days prescribed by law for a corporation, limited partnership, limited liability partnership or limited liability company$15.00
(5) For issuing a certificate relating to a corporation or other business entity, as follows:
(A) Certificate of good standing of a domestic or foreign corporation$10.00
(B) Certificate of existence of a domestic limited liability company, and certificate of authorization foreign limited liability company10.00
(C) Certificate of existence of any business entity, trademark or service mark registered with the Secretary of State10.00
(D) Certified copy of corporate charter or comparable organizing documents for other business entities15.00
(E) Plus, for each additional amendment, restatement or other additional document5.00
(F) Certificate of registration of the name of a foreign corporation, limited liability company, limited partnership or limited liability partnership25.00
(G) And for the annual renewal of the name registration
10.00
(H) Any other certificate not specified in this subdivision
10.00
(6) For issuing a certificate other than those relating to business entities, as provided in this subsection, as follows:
(A) Certificate or apostille relating to the authority of certain public officers, including the membership of boards and commissions$10.00
(B) Plus, for each additional certificate pertaining to the same transaction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5.00
(C) Any other certificate not specified in this
subdivision10.00
(D) For acceptance, indexing and recordation of service of process any corporation, limited partnership, limited liability partnership, limited liability company, voluntary association, business trust, insurance company, person or other entity as permitted by law15.00
(E) For shipping and handling expenses for execution of service of process by certified mail upon any defendant within the United States, which fee is to be deposited to the special revenue account established in this section for the operation of the office of the Secretary of State.5.00
(F) For shipping and handling expenses for execution of service of process upon any defendant outside the United States by registered mail, which fee is to be deposited to the special revenue account established in this section for the operation of the office of the Secretary of State.15.00
(7) For a search of records of the office conducted by employees of or at the expense of the Secretary of State upon request, as follows:
(A) For any search of archival records maintained at sites other than the office of the Secretary of State
no less than$10.00
(B) For searches of archival records maintained at sites other than the office of the Secretary of State which require more than one hour, for each hour or fraction of an hour consumed in making such search10.00
(C) For any search of records maintained on site for the purpose of obtaining copies of documents or printouts of data
5.00
(D) For any search of records maintained in electronic format which requires special programming to be performed by the state information services agency or other vendor any actual cost, but not less than25.00
(E) The cost of the search is in addition to the cost of any copies or printouts prepared or any certificate issued pursuant to or based on the search.
(F) For recording any paper for which no specific fee is prescribed5.00
(8) For producing and providing photocopies or printouts of electronic data of specific records upon request, as follows:
(A) For a copy of any paper or printout of electronic data, if one sheet$1.00
(B) For each sheet after the first .50
(C) For sending the copies or lists by fax
transmission5.00
(D) For producing and providing photocopies of lists, reports, guidelines and other documents produced in multiple copies for general public use, a publication price to be established by the Secretary of State at a rate approximating 2.00 plus .10 per page and rounded to the nearest dollar.
(E) For electronic copies of records obtained in data format on disk, the cost of the record in the least expensive available printed format, plus, for each required disk, which shall be provided by the Secretary of State5.00
(b) The Secretary of State may propose legislative rules for promulgation for charges for on-line electronic access to database information or other information maintained by the Secretary of State.
(c) For any other work or service not enumerated in this subsection, the fee prescribed elsewhere in this code or a rule promulgated under the authority of this code.
(d) The records maintained by the Secretary of State are prepared and indexed at the expense of the state and those records shall not be obtained for commercial resale without the written agreement of the state to a contract including reimbursement to the state for each instance of resale.
(e) The Secretary of State may provide printed or electronic information free of charge as he or she considers necessary and efficient for the purpose of informing the general public or the news media.
(f) There is hereby continued in the State Treasury a special revenue account to be known as the "service fees and collections" account. Expenditures from the account shall be used for the operation of the office of the Secretary of State and are not authorized from collections, but are to be made only in accordance with appropriation by the Legislature and in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter twelve of this code and upon the fulfillment of the provisions set forth in article two, chapter five-a of this code. Notwithstanding any other provision of this code to the contrary, except as provided in subsection (h) of this section and section two-a of this article, one half of all the fees and service charges established in the following sections and for the following purposes shall be deposited by the Secretary of State or other collecting agency to that special revenue account and used for the operation of the office of the Secretary of State:
(1) The annual attorney-in-fact fee for corporations and limited partnerships established in section five, article twelve-c, chapter eleven of this code;
(2) The fees received for the sale of the State Register, code of state rules and other copies established by rule and authorized by section seven, article two, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code;
(3) The registration fees, late fees and legal settlements charged for registration and enforcement of the charitable organizations and professional solicitations established in sections five, nine and fifteen-b, article nineteen, chapter twenty-nine of this code;
(4) The annual attorney-in-fact fee for limited liability companies as designated in section one hundred eight, article one, chapter thirty-one-b of this code and established in section two hundred eleven, article two of said chapter: Provided, That after the thirtieth day of June, two thousand eight, the annual report fees designated in section one hundred eight, article one, chapter thirty-one-b of this code shall upon collection be deposited in the general administrative fees account described in subsection (h) of this section;
(5) The filing fees and search and copying fees for uniform commercial code transactions established by section five hundred twenty-five, article nine, chapter forty-six of this code;
(6) The annual attorney-in-fact fee for licensed insurers established in section twelve, article four, chapter thirty-three of this code;
(7) The fees for the application and record maintenance of all notaries public established by section one hundred seven, article one, chapter twenty-nine-c of this code;
(8) The fees for the application and record maintenance of commissioners for West Virginia as established by section twelve, article four, chapter twenty-nine of this code;
(9) The fees for registering credit service organizations as established by section five, article six-c, chapter forty-six-a of this code;
(10) The fees for registering and renewing a West Virginia limited liability partnership as established by section one, article ten, chapter forty-seven-b of this code;
(11) The filing fees for the registration and renewal of trademarks and service marks established in section seventeen, article two, chapter forty-seven of this code;
(12) All fees for services, the sale of photocopies and data maintained at the expense of the Secretary of State as provided in this section; and
(13) All registration, license and other fees collected by the Secretary of State not specified in this section.
(g) Any balance in the service fees and collections account established by this section which exceeds five hundred thousand dollars as of the thirtieth day of June, two thousand three, and each year thereafter, shall be expired to the state fund, General Revenue Fund.
(h)(1) Effective the first day of July, two thousand eight, there is hereby created in the State Treasury a special revenue account to be known as the general administrative fees account. Expenditures from the account shall be used for the operation of the office of the Secretary of State and are not authorized from collections, but are to be made only in accordance with appropriation by the Legislature and in accordance with the provisions of article three, chapter twelve of this code and upon the fulfillment of the provisions set forth in article two, chapter eleven-b of this code: Provided, That for the fiscal year ending the thirtieth day of June, two thousand nine, expenditures are authorized from collections rather than pursuant to an appropriation by the Legislature. Any balance in the account at the end of each fiscal year shall not revert to the General Revenue Fund but shall remain in the fund and be expended as provided by this subsection.
(2) After the thirtieth day of June, two thousand eight, all the fees and service charges established in section two-a of this article for the following purposes shall be collected and deposited by the Secretary of State or other collecting agency in the general administrative fees account and used for the operation of the office of the Secretary of State:
(A) The annual report fees paid to the Secretary of State by corporations, limited partnerships, domestic limited liability companies and foreign limited liability companies;
(B) The fees for the issuance of a certificate relating to the initial registration of a corporation, limited partnership, domestic limited liability company or foreign limited liability company described in subdivision (2), subsection (a) of this section; and
(C) The fees for the purchase of date and updates related to the State's Business Organizations Database described in section two-a of this article.
(i) There is continued in the office of the Secretary of State a noninterest bearing, escrow account to be known as the "prepaid fees and services account". This account shall be for the purpose of allowing customers of the Secretary of State to prepay for services, with payment to be held in escrow until services are rendered. Payments deposited in the account shall remain in the account until services are rendered by the Secretary of State and at that time the fees will be reallocated to the appropriate general or special revenue accounts. There shall be no fee charged by the secretary of state to the customer for the use of this account and the customer may request the return of any moneys maintained in the account at any time without penalty. The assets of the prepaid fees and services account do not constitute public funds of the state and are available solely for carrying out the purposes of this section.
(a) Definitions. -- As used in this section:
(1) "Annual report fee" means the fee described in subsection (c) of this section that is to be paid to the Secretary of State each year by corporations, limited partnerships, domestic limited liability companies and foreign limited liability companies. After June 30, 2008, any reference in this code to a fee paid to the Secretary of State for services as a statutory attorney in fact shall mean the annual report fee described in this section.
(2) "Business activity" means all activities engaged in or caused to be engaged in with the object of gain or economic benefit, direct or indirect, but does not mean any of the activities of foreign corporations enumerated in subsection (b), section one thousand five hundred one, article fifteen, chapter thirty-one-d of this code, except for the activity of conducting affairs in interstate commerce when activity occurs in this state, nor does it mean any of the activities of foreign limited liability companies enumerated in subsection (a), section one thousand three, article ten, chapter thirty-one-b of this code except for the activity of conducting affairs in interstate commerce when activity occurs in this state.
(3) "Corporation" means a "domestic corporation", a "foreign corporation" or a "nonprofit corporation".
(4) "Deliver or delivery" means any method of delivery used in conventional commercial practice, including, but not limited to, delivery by hand, mail, commercial delivery and electronic transmission.
(5) "Domestic corporation" means a corporation for profit which is not a foreign corporation incorporated under or subject to chapter thirty-one-d of this code.
(6) "Domestic limited liability company" means a limited liability company which is not a foreign limited liability company under or subject to chapter thirty-one-b of this code.
(7) "Foreign corporation" means a for-profit corporation incorporated under a law other than the laws of this state.
(8) "Foreign limited liability company" means a limited liability company organized under a law other than the laws of this state.
(9) "Limited partnership" means a partnership as defined by section one, article nine, chapter forty-seven of this code.
(10) "Nonprofit corporation" means a nonprofit corporation as defined by section one hundred fifty, article one, chapter thirty- one-e of this code.
(11) "Registration fee" means the fee for the issuance of a certificate relating to the initial registration of a corporation, limited partnership, domestic limited liability company or foreign limited liability company described in subdivision (2), subsection (a), section two of this article. The term "initial registration" also means the date upon which the registration fee is paid.
(b) Required payment of annual report fee and filing of annual report. -- After June 30, 2008, no corporation, limited partnership, domestic limited liability company or foreign limited liability company may engage in any business activity in this state without paying the annual report fee and filing the annual report as required by this section.
(c) Annual report fee. -- After June 30, 2008, each corporation, limited partnership, domestic limited liability company and foreign limited liability company engaged in or authorized to do business in this state shall pay an annual report fee of $25 for the services of the Secretary of State as attorney- in-fact for the corporation, limited partnership, domestic limited liability company or foreign limited liability company, and for such other administrative services as may be imposed by law upon the Secretary of State. The fee is due and payable each year after the initial registration of the corporation, limited partnership, domestic limited liability company or foreign limited liability company with the annual report described in subsection (d) of this section on or before the dates specified in subsection (e) of this section. The fee is due and payable each year with the annual report from corporations, limited partnerships, domestic limited liability companies and foreign limited liability companies that paid the registration fee prior to July 1, 2008, on or before the dates specified in subsection (e) of this section. The annual report fees received by the Secretary of State pursuant to this subsection shall be deposited by the Secretary of State in the general administrative fees account established by section two of this article.
(d) Annual report. -- (1) After June 30, 2008, each corporation, limited partnership, domestic limited liability company and foreign limited liability company engaged in or authorized to do business in this state shall file an annual report. The report is due each year after the initial registration of the corporation, limited partnership, domestic limited liability company or foreign limited liability company with the annual report fee described in subsection (c) of this section on or before the dates specified in subsection (e) of this section. The report is due each year from corporations, limited partnerships, domestic limited liability companies and foreign limited liability companies that paid the registration fee prior to July 1, 2008, on or before the dates specified in subsection (e) of this section.
(2) (A) The annual report shall be filed with the Secretary of State on forms provided by the Secretary of State for that purpose. The annual report shall, in the case of corporations, contain: (i) The address of the corporation's principal office; (ii) the names and mailing addresses of its officers and directors; (iii) the name and mailing address of the person on whom notice of process may be served; (iv) the name and address of the corporation's parent corporation and of each subsidiary of the corporation licensed to do business in this state; (v) in the case of limited partnerships domestic limited liability companies and foreign limited liability companies, similar information with respect to their principal or controlling interests as determined by the Secretary of State or otherwise required by law to be reported to the Secretary of State; (vi) the county or county code in which the principal office address or mailing address of the company is located; (vii) business class code; and (viii) any other information the Secretary of State considers appropriate.
(B) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the Secretary of State shall, upon request of any person, disclose, with respect to corporations: (i) The address of the corporation's principal office; (ii) the names and addresses of its officers and directors; (iii) the name and mailing address of the person on whom notice of process may be served; (iv) the name and address of each subsidiary of the corporation and the corporation's parent corporation; (v) the county or county code in which the principal office address or mailing address of the company is located; and (vi) the business class code. The Secretary of State shall provide similar information with respect to information in its possession relating to limited partnerships domestic limited liability companies and foreign limited liability companies, similar information with respect to their principal or controlling interests.
(e) Annual reports and fees due July 1. -- Each domestic and foreign corporation, limited partnership, limited liability company and foreign limited liability company shall file with the Secretary of State the annual report and pay the annual report fee by July 1 of each year.
(f) Deposit of fees. -- The annual report fees received by the Secretary of State pursuant to this section shall be deposited by the Secretary of State in the general administrative fees account established by section two, article one, chapter fifty-nine of this code.
(g) Duty to pay. -- It shall be the duty of each corporation, limited partnership, limited liability company and foreign limited liability company required to pay the annual report fees imposed under this article, to remit them with a properly completed annual report to the Secretary of State, and if it fails to do so it shall be subject to the late fees prescribed in subsection (h) of this article.
(h) Late fees. -- (1) The following late fees shall be in addition to any other penalties and remedies available elsewhere in this code:
(A) Administrative late fee. -- The Secretary of State shall assess upon each corporation, limited partnership, limited liability company and foreign limited liability company delinquent in the payment of an annual report fee or the filing of an annual report an administrative late fee in the amount of $50.
(B) Administrative late fees for nonprofit corporations. -- The Secretary of State shall assess each nonprofit corporation delinquent in the payment of an annual report fee or the filing of an annual report an administrative late fee in the amount of $25.
(2) The Secretary of State shall deposit the first $25,000 of fees collected under this subsection into the general administrative fees account established in subsection (h), section two of this article, and shall deposit any additional fees collected under this section into the General Revenue Fund of the state.
(i) Reports to Tax Commissioner; suspension, cancellation or withholding of business registration certificate. --
(1) The Secretary of State shall, within twenty days after the close of each month, make a report to the Tax Commissioner for the preceding month, in which he or she shall set out the name of every business entity to which he or she issued a certificate to conduct business in the State of West Virginia during that month. The report shall set out the names and addresses all corporations, limited partnerships, limited liability companies and foreign limited liability companies to which he or she issued certificates of change of name or of change of location of principal office, dissolution, withdrawal or merger. If the Secretary of State fails to make the report, it shall be the duty of the Tax Commissioner to report such failure to the Governor. A writ of mandamus shall lie for correction of such failure.
(2) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this code to the contrary, upon receipt of notice from the Secretary of State that a corporation, limited partnership, limited liability company and foreign limited liability company is more than thirty days delinquent in the payment of annual report fees or in the filing of an annual report required by this section, the Tax Commissioner may suspend, cancel or withhold a business registration certificate issued to or applied for by the delinquent corporation, limited partnership, limited liability company or foreign limited liability company until the same is paid and filed in the manner provided for the suspension, cancellation or withholding of business registration certificates for other reasons under article twelve, chapter eleven of this code.
(j) Purchase of data. -- The Secretary of State will provide electronically, for purchase, any data maintained in the Secretary of State's Business Organizations Database. For the electronic purchase of the entire Business Organizations Database, the cost is $12,000. For the purchase of the monthly updates of the Business Organizations Database, the cost is $1,000 per month. The fees received by the Secretary of State pursuant to this subsection shall be deposited by the Secretary of State in the general administrative fees account established by section two, article one, chapter fifty-nine of this code.
(k) The Secretary of State is authorized to collect the service fee per transaction, if any, charged for an online service from any customer who purchases data or conducts transactions through an online service.
(l) Rules. -- The Secretary of State may propose legislative
rules for promulgation pursuant to article three, chapter twenty-
nine-a of this code to implement this article, and may, pending
promulgation of those rules, promulgate emergency rules pursuant to
those provisions for those purposes.
Land grants not exceeding five hundred words$1.50
For each additional five hundred words or fractional
part thereof1.00
For certificate of redemption, where taxes and interest
are five dollars and under1.00
For certificate of redemption, where taxes and interest
are over five and under twenty dollars 1.50
For certificate of redemption, where taxes and interest
are over twenty dollars2.00
For making search as to title, etc., when not over one
hour 2.50
For each additional hour2.00
For transcript of records and certifying to same when
not over one hundred words1.50
For each additional one hundred words .25
For a certificate of reinstatement of corporation
charter 5.00
For all surveying actually done (unless by special
contract), for the first one hundred poles, or
any less distance, long measure, per pole$.01
After the first one hundred poles, long measure, per
pole .005
For tracing and examining old surveys to ascertain the true lines, their distance and courses, or for doing surveying in and about any mines, cities, towns or villages, the surveyor may charge $5.00 for every day necessarily so employed, in lieu of charging by the pole: Provided, That nothing in this section shall prevent any party having surveying done from making a contract for a different compensation. For calculating the
quantity for less than six courses or lines .50
When land is divided, for calculating each division,
if less than six courses .50
For every course or line of more than six courses .03
For making a plat of six courses, or less .50
For every course more than six .03
For recording a plat and certificate, if not more than
six courses .50
For every course above six .03
For a copy of a plat and certificate, where there are not
more than six courses .50
For every course above six .03
For a copy of an entry .50
For every search where no copy is required .25
For giving receipt for any paper .15
For traveling to the place of surveying and returning,
per mile .05
If surveying be done at different places, on the same tour, the mileage shall be apportioned among the different surveys according to their distance from the residence of the surveyor or deputy and each other, so that the surveyor shall not receive more than five cents a mile for going and returning for any one trip.
When there is a protest by him, for the record thereof, making out instrument of protest under his official seal and notice of dishonor to one person besides
the maker of a note or acceptor of a bill$1.00
For every additional notice .10
For taking and certifying the acknowledgment of any deed
or writing.50
For administering and certifying an oath, unless it be the
affidavit of a witness25
For taking and certifying affidavits or depositions of
witnesses, at the rate, for each hour actually employed
in taking the same, of .75
For other services, where no specific fee is prescribed the same fees as are allowed by law to the clerk of the circuit court for similar services.
A commissioner shall not be compelled to make out or return a report until his compensation therefor be paid or security given him to pay so much as may be adjudged right by the court to whom the report is to be returned, or, if it be a circuit court or court of limited jurisdiction, by the judge thereof in vacation, unless the court or judge see cause to order it to be made out and returned without such payment or security, and shall so order.
The fiduciary commissioner shall submit to the commission an itemized statement of services rendered and time expended in the settling of every estate, along with a statement of fees charged therefor. The county commission shall review all fees charged by a fiduciary commissioner, and shall approve, disapprove or modify the fee as it may deem appropriate. In reviewing any fee the county commission shall consider the following: (1) The time and labor expended; (2) the difficulty of the questions raised; (3) the skill required to perform properly the services rendered; (4) the customary fee for like work; and (5) any time limitations imposed by the personal representative, any beneficiary, or by the attendant circumstances.
For the purpose of this section, the word "page" is defined as being a paper or electronic writing of not more than legal size, 8 1/2" x 14".
(a) When a writing is admitted to record, for receiving proof of acknowledgment thereof, entering an order in connection therewith, endorsing clerk's certificate of recordation thereon and indexing in a proper index, the clerk of the county commission shall charge and collect the following fees:
(1) Fifteen dollars for a deed of conveyance (with or without a plat), trust deed, fixture filing or security agreement concerning real estate lease.
(2) Forty dollars for a trustee's report of sale for any property for which additional information and filing requirements are required by section eight-a, article one, chapter thirty-eight of this code. Twenty dollars of each recording fee received pursuant to this subdivision shall be deposited into the county's General Revenue Fund and $20 paid quarterly by the clerk of the county commission to the West Virginia Housing Development Fund established in article eighteen, chapter thirty-one of this code.
(3) Ten dollars for a financing, continuation, termination or other statement or writing permitted to be filed under chapter forty-six of this code.
(4) Ten dollars for a plat or map (with no deed of conveyance).
(5) No charge for a service discharge record.
(6) Ten dollars for any document or writing other than those referenced in subdivisions (1), (2), (3), (4) and (5) of this subsection.
(7) One dollar for each additional page for documents or writings containing more than five pages.
For any of the documents admitted to record pursuant to this subsection, if the clerk of the county commission has the technology available to receive these documents in electronic form or other media, the clerk shall set a reasonable fee to record these writings not to exceed the cost for filing paper documents.
(8) Of the fees collected pursuant to subdivision (1), subsection (a) of this section, $10 shall be deposited in the county general fund in accordance with section twenty-eight of this article and $1 shall be deposited in the county general fund and dedicated to the operation of the county clerk's office. Four dollars of the fees collected pursuant to subdivision (1), subsection (a) of this section and $5 of the fees collected pursuant to subdivision (6), subsection (a) of this section shall be paid by the county clerk into the State Treasury and deposited in equal amounts for deposit into the Farmland Protection Fund created in article twelve, chapter eight-a of this code for the benefit of the West Virginia Agricultural Land Protection Authority and into the Outdoor Heritage Conservation Fund created in article two-g, chapter five-b of this code. The funds deposited in the State Treasury pursuant to this subdivision may only be used for costs, excluding personnel costs, associated with purpose of land conservation, as defined in subsection (f), section seven, article two-g, chapter five-b of this code.
(b) Five dollars for administering any oath other than oaths by officers and employees of the state, political subdivisions of the state or a public or quasi-public entity of the state or a political subdivision of the state, taken in his or her official capacity.
(c) Fifty-five dollars for issuance of marriage license and other duties pertaining to the marriage license (including preparation of the application, administrating the oath, registering and recording the license, mailing acknowledgment of minister's return to one of the licensees and notification to a licensee after sixty days of the nonreceipt of the minister's return). This fee is reduced to $35 if the applicants present a premarital education course completion certificate issued pursuant to section seven hundred one, article two, chapter forty-eight of this code, and dated within one year of the application for a marriage license.
(1) One dollar of the marriage license fee received pursuant to this subsection shall be paid by the county clerk into the State Treasury as a state registration fee in the same manner that license taxes are paid into the Treasury under article twelve, chapter eleven of this code;
(2) Fifteen dollars of the marriage license fee received pursuant to this subsection shall be paid by the county clerk into the State Treasury for the Family Protection Shelter Support Act in the same manner that license taxes are paid into the Treasury under article twelve, chapter eleven of this code;
(3) Ten dollars of the marriage license fee received pursuant to this subsection shall be deposited in the Courthouse Facilities Improvement Fund created by section six, article twenty-six, chapter twenty-nine of this code; and
(4) If a premarital education course completion certificate is not presented, the county clerk shall, on or before the tenth day of each month, transmit $20 of the marriage license fee received pursuant to this subsection to the state treasurer for deposit in the state treasury as follows:
(A) Five dollars to the credit of the Family Protection Shelter Support Act in the same manner that license taxes are paid into the Treasury under article twelve, chapter eleven of this code;
(B) Five dollars to the credit of the special revenue account, hereby created, designated the "Fund for Civil Legal Services for Low Income Persons," which shall consist of all gifts, grants, bequests, transfers, appropriations or other donations or payments which may be received and administered by the Division of Justice and Community Services from any governmental entity or unit or any person, firm, foundation, or corporation for the purposes of this section, and all interest or other return earned from investment of the fund. Expenditures from the fund shall be made by the Director of the Division of Justice and Community Services and shall be limited to grants to nonprofit agencies which provide civil legal services to low income persons made at his or her discretion. Any balance in the fund at the end of each fiscal year shall not revert to the general revenue fund but shall remain in the fund and be expended as provided by this section.
(C) Ten dollars to the credit of the Marriage Education Fund created pursuant to section seven hundred two, article two, chapter forty-eight of this code.
(d) (1) One dollar and fifty cents for a copy of any writing or document, if it is not otherwise provided for.
(2) One dollar for each additional page if the writing or documents contains more than two pages.
(3) One dollar for annexing the seal of the commission or clerk to any paper.
(4) Five dollars for a certified copy of a birth certificate, death certificate or marriage license.
(e) For copies of any record in electronic form or a medium
other than paper, a reasonable fee set by the clerk of the county
commission not to exceed the costs associated with document search
and duplication.
(a) The clerk of a circuit court shall charge and collect for services rendered by the clerk the following fees which shall be paid in advance by the parties for whom services are to be rendered:
(1) For instituting any civil action under the Rules of Civil Procedure, any statutory summary proceeding, any extraordinary remedy, the docketing of civil appeals or any other action, cause, suit or proceeding, $155, of which $30 shall be deposited in the Courthouse Facilities Improvement Fund created by section six, article twenty-six, chapter twenty-nine of this code and $20 deposited in the special revenue account created in section six hundred three, article twenty-six, chapter forty-eight of this code to provide legal services for domestic violence victims;
(2) For instituting an action for medical professional liability, $280, of which $10 shall be deposited in the Courthouse Facilities Improvement Fund created by section six, article twenty- six, chapter twenty-nine of this code;
(3) Beginning on and after July 1, 1999, for instituting an action for divorce, separate maintenance or annulment, $135;
(4) For petitioning for the modification of an order involving child custody, child visitation, child support or spousal support, $85; and
(5) For petitioning for an expedited modification of a child support order, $35.
(b) In addition to the foregoing fees, the following fees shall be charged and collected:
(1) For preparing an abstract of judgment, $5;
(2) For a transcript, copy or paper made by the clerk for use in any other court or otherwise to go out of the office, for each page, $1;
(3) For issuing a suggestion and serving notice to the debtor by certified mail, $25;
(4) For issuing an execution, $25;
(5) For issuing or renewing a suggestee execution and serving notice to the debtor by certified mail, $25;
(6) For vacation or modification of a suggestee execution, $1;
(7) For docketing and issuing an execution on a transcript of judgment from magistrate court, $3;
(8) For arranging the papers in a certified question, writ of error, appeal or removal to any other court, $10, of which $5 shall be deposited in the Courthouse Facilities Improvement Fund created by section six, article twenty-six, chapter twenty-nine of this code;
(9)For each subpoena, on the part of either plaintiff or defendant, to be paid by the party requesting the same, 50¢;
(10) For additional service, plaintiff or appellant, where any case remains on the docket longer than three years, for each additional year or part year, $20; and
(11) For administering funds deposited into a federally insured interest-bearing account or interest-bearing instrument pursuant to a court order, $50, to be collected from the party making the deposit. A fee collected pursuant to this subdivision shall be paid into the general county fund.
(c) In addition to the foregoing fees, a fee for the actual amount of the postage and express may be charged and collected for sending decrees, orders or records that have not been ordered by the court to be sent by mail or express.
(d) The clerk shall tax the following fees for services in a criminal case against a defendant convicted in such court:
(1) In the case of a misdemeanor, $85; and
(2) In the case of a felony, $105, of which $10 shall be deposited in the Courthouse Facilities Improvement Fund created by section six, article twenty-six, chapter twenty-nine of this code.
(e) The clerk of a circuit court shall charge and collect a fee of $25 per bond for services rendered by the clerk for processing of criminal bonds and the fee shall be paid at the time of issuance by the person or entity set forth below:
(1) For cash bonds, the fee shall be paid by the person tendering cash as bond;
(2) For recognizance bonds secured by real estate, the fee shall be paid by the owner of the real estate serving as surety;
(3) For recognizance bonds secured by a surety company, the fee shall be paid by the surety company;
(4) For ten-percent recognizance bonds with surety, the fee shall be paid by the person serving as surety; and
(5) For ten-percent recognizance bonds without surety, the fee shall be paid by the person tendering ten percent of the bail amount.
In instances in which the total of the bond is posted by more than one bond instrument, the above fee shall be collected at the time of issuance of each bond instrument processed by the clerk and all fees collected pursuant to this subsection shall be deposited in the Courthouse Facilities Improvement Fund created by section six, article twenty-six, chapter twenty-nine of this code. Nothing in this subsection authorizes the clerk to collect the above fee from any person for the processing of a personal recognizance bond.
(f) The clerk of a circuit court shall charge and collect a fee of $10 for services rendered by the clerk for processing of bailpiece and the fee shall be paid by the surety at the time of issuance. All fees collected pursuant to this subsection shall be deposited in the Courthouse Facilities Improvement Fund created by section six, article twenty-six, chapter twenty-nine of this code.
(g) No clerk is required to handle or accept for disbursement
any fees, cost or amounts of any other officer or party not payable
into the county treasury except on written order of the court or in
compliance with the provisions of law governing such fees, costs or
accounts.
(b) In each criminal case before a circuit court upon appeal from a magistrate court in which the defendant is convicted, whether by plea or at trial in the circuit court, under the provisions of section two, article five, chapter seventeen-c of this code or section eighteen-b, article seven, chapter twenty of this code, there shall be imposed, in addition to other costs, fines, forfeitures or penalties as may be allowed by law, costs in the amount of fifty-five dollars. For purposes of further defraying the cost to the county of enforcing the provisions of section two, article five, chapter seventeen-c of this code or section eighteen-b, article seven, chapter twenty of this code and related provisions, the clerk of the circuit court shall, on or before the tenth day of the month following the month in which the costs imposed in this section were collected, remit an amount equal to the amount from each of the criminal proceedings in which the costs specified in this subsection were collected to the sheriff of the county who shall deposit the same in the general revenue fund of the county. The provisions of this subsection shall not require payment of the costs imposed by this subsection to the circuit court where the costs have been paid in the magistrate court.
(c) In each criminal case before a circuit court upon appeal from a municipal proceeding in which the defendant is convicted, whether by plea or at trial in the circuit court, under the provisions of a municipal ordinance which has the same elements as an offense described in section two, article five, chapter seventeen-c of this code or section eighteen-b, article seven, chapter twenty of this code, there shall be imposed, in addition to other costs, fines, forfeitures or penalties as may be allowed by law, costs in the amount of fifty-five dollars. For purposes of further defraying the cost to the municipality of enforcing the provisions of the ordinance or ordinances described in this subsection and related provisions, the clerk of the circuit court shall, on or before the tenth day of the month following the month in which the costs imposed in this section were collected, remit an amount equal to the amount from each of the criminal proceedings in which the costs specified in this subsection were collected to the clerk of the municipal court or other person designated to receive fines and costs for the municipality from which the conviction was appealed who shall deposit these moneys in the general revenue fund of the municipality. The provisions of this subsection shall not require payment of the costs imposed by this subsection to the circuit court where the costs have been paid to the clerk of the municipal court or other person designated to receive fines and costs for the municipality.
(d) The provisions of this section shall be effective after the thirtieth day of June, two thousand four.
For all copies of petitions, records, orders, opinions or other papers, per page
. 25¢
For each certificate under seal of the court $5
For license to practice law, suitable for framing. $25
For docketing any civil appeals, including appeals from Family Courts, but not including, appeals in workers' compensations cases, any action in the Supreme Court's original jurisdiction or any other action, cause or proceeding $200
For any other work or services not herein enumerated, the clerk shall charge the fees prescribed for similar services by clerks of circuit courts.
Fees collected for docketing civil appeals shall be expended,
in the discretion of the West Virginia Supreme Court of Appeals,
solely to provide grants to the federally designated provider of
civil legal services for low income citizens in the state.
For serving on any person an order, notice, summons or other process where the body is not taken, except a subpoena served on a witness, and making return thereof$25.00
For summoning a witness 25.00
For serving on any person an attachment or
other process under which the body is taken 25.00
For levying an attachment on real estate and
making the return 25.00
For making any other levy 25.00
For serving a writ of possession 25.00
(b) The county commission shall determine the amount which the sheriff may charge, which charges shall not exceed the following:
For conveying a prisoner to or from jail, for
each mile of necessary travel either
in going or returning .25
For taking any bond 1.00
When a jury is sworn in court, for
summoning and impaneling such jury 1.00
For issuing receipt to purchaser at
delinquent tax sale 1.00
(c) The county commission, giving due regard to the cost thereof, may from time to time prescribe the amount which the sheriff may charge for keeping any property or in removing any property. When, after distraining or levying, he or she neither sells nor receives payment, and either takes no bond or takes one which is not forfeited, he or she shall, if guilty of no default, have (in addition to the one dollar for a bond, if one was taken) a fee of three dollars, unless this be more than half of what his or her commission would have amounted to if he or she had received payment; in which case he or she shall (whether a bond was taken or not) have a fee of one dollar at the least, and so much more as is necessary to make the said half of his or her commission. The commission to be included in a forthcoming bond (when one is taken) shall be five percent on the first three hundred dollars of the money for which the distress or levy is made, and two percent on the residue of the money; but the commission shall not be received, in whole or in part, except as hereinbefore provided, unless the bond be forfeited, or the amount (including the commission) be paid to the plaintiff. An officer receiving payment in money, or selling property, shall have the like commission of five percent on the first three hundred dollars of the money paid or proceeds from the sale, and two percent on the residue, except that when the payment or sale is on an execution on a forthcoming bond, his or her commission shall be only half what it would be if the execution were not on the bond.
(d) Any amounts collected by the sheriff pursuant to this section shall be deposited in a separate account of the county general fund and used by the sheriff for the expenses of providing the services herein described: Provided, That two dollars of each fee collected pursuant to the provisions of subsection (a) of this section shall be deposited by the county commission in the "West Virginia Deputy Sheriff Retirement Fund" created in section six, article fourteen-d, chapter seven of this code and three dollars of each fee collected pursuant to the provisions of subsection (a) of this section shall be deposited by the county commission in the general revenue account of the county commission. Any surplus funds that remain in the separate account of the county general fund required by the provisions of this subsection on the last day of the fiscal year, and have not been expended for the purposes herein described, shall revert to the county general fund.
Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, all fees collected by a sheriff for service of all manner of process from magistrate court, in addition to such other funds as may be provided by the county commissions, shall be dedicated by the county commission to the office of sheriff for providing bailiff and service of process services for magistrate court.
(1) Into the Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority Fund in the State Treasury established pursuant to the provisions of section ten, article twenty, chapter thirty-one of this code the amount of sixty dollars;
(2) Into the Court Security Fund in the State Treasury established pursuant to the provisions of section fourteen, article three, chapter fifty-one of this code the amount of five dollars; and
(3) Into the Regional Jail Operations Partial Reimbursement Fund established pursuant to the provisions of section ten-b, article twenty, chapter thirty-one of this code the amount of twenty dollars.
(b) For each action for divorce, separate maintenance or annulment instituted in the circuit court, the clerk of the court shall, at the end of each month, report to the Supreme Court of Appeals the number of actions filed by persons unable to pay and pay into the funds or accounts in this subsection an amount equal to the amount set forth in this subsection of every filing fee received for instituting the divorce action as follows:
(1) Into the Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority Fund in the State Treasury established pursuant to the provisions of section ten, article twenty, chapter thirty-one of this code the amount of ten dollars;
(2) Into the special revenue account of the State Treasury, established pursuant to section six hundred four, article two, chapter forty-eight of this code an amount of thirty dollars;
(3) Into the Family Court Fund established under section twenty-two, article two-a, chapter fifty-one of this code an amount of seventy dollars; and
(4) Into the Court Security Fund in the State Treasury, established pursuant to the provisions of section fourteen, article three, chapter fifty-one of this code the amount of five dollars.
(c) Notwithstanding any provision of subsection (a) or (b) of this section to the contrary, the clerk of the court shall, at the end of each month, pay into the Family Court Fund established under section twenty-two, article two-a, chapter fifty-one of this code an amount equal to the amount of every fee received for petitioning for the modification of an order involving child custody, child visitation, child support or spousal support as determined by subdivision (3), subsection (a), section eleven of this article and for petitioning for an expedited modification of a child support order as provided in subdivision (4) of said subsection.
(d) The clerk of the court from which a protective order is issued shall, at the end of each month, pay into the Family Court Fund established under section twenty-two, article two-a, chapter fifty-one of this code an amount equal to every fee received pursuant to the provisions of section five hundred eight, article twenty-seven, chapter forty-eight of this code.
(e) Of every fee for service received in any criminal case against any respondent convicted in circuit court, the clerk of each circuit court shall, at the end of each month, pay into the Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority Fund in the State Treasury an amount equal to forty dollars, into the Court Security Fund in the State Treasury established pursuant to the provisions of section fourteen, article three, chapter fifty-one of this code an amount equal to five dollars and into the Regional Jail Operations Partial Reimbursement Fund established pursuant to the provisions of section ten-b, article twenty, chapter thirty-one of this code an amount equal to thirty dollars.
(f) The clerk of the circuit court shall, at the end of each month, pay into the Medical Liability Fund established under article twelve-b, chapter twenty-nine of this code, an amount equal to one hundred sixty-five dollars of every filing fee received for instituting a medical professional liability action.
(g) The clerk of the circuit court shall, at the end of each month, pay into the Courthouse Facilities Improvement Fund created by section six, article twenty-six, chapter twenty-nine of this code, those amounts received by the clerk which are dedicated for deposit in the fund.
(h) The clerk of each circuit court shall, at the end of each month, pay into the Regional Jail Operations Partial Reimbursement Fund established in the State Treasury pursuant to the provisions of section ten-b, article twenty, chapter thirty-one of this code, those amounts received by the clerk which are dedicated for deposit in the fund.
Acts, 1967 Reg. Sess., Ch. 105.
All county officers shall report to the county commission by the first day of July each year concerning his or her election to use interest bearing accounts, amounts currently on deposit and interest actually earned on such accounts.
(1) The clerk of the court and all other officers of the court shall issue and serve all process and perform all duties in such cases.
(2) Judgment may be rendered for costs at the conclusion of the action, where otherwise authorized by law, and be taxable against a losing party who has not been determined to be financially unable to pay.
(3) Upon the filing of an affidavit in accordance with this subsection, seeking an appeal in a civil case from a circuit court to the supreme court of appeals, the supreme court of appeals may direct payment by the administrative office of the supreme court of appeals of the expenses of duplicating the record on appeal after it is transmitted by the clerk of the circuit court. The transcript of proceedings before the circuit court, if the petition for appeal is to be filed with the transcript, shall be provided by the court reporter without cost: Provided, That actual expenses of the court reporter for supplies used in preparing the transcript may be paid when authorized by the director of the administrative office of the supreme court of appeals.
(b) The supreme court of appeals or the chief justice thereof shall establish and periodically review and update financial guidelines for determining the eligibility of civil litigants to proceed in forma pauperis.
(c) The supreme court of appeals shall adopt a financial affidavit form for use by persons seeking a waiver of fees, costs or security pursuant to the provisions of this section. Copies of the form shall be available to the public in the offices of the clerk of any court of this state. The affidavit shall state the nature of the action, defense or appeal and the affiant's belief that he or she is entitled to redress. The form shall elicit information from the affiant which will enable the court in which it is filed to consider the following factors in determining whether the affiant is financially unable to pay fees, costs or security:
(1) Current income prospects, taking into account seasonal variations in income;
(2) Liquid assets, assets which may provide collateral to obtain funds and other assets which may be liquidated to provide funds to pay fees, costs or security;
(3) Fixed debts and obligations, including federal, state and local taxes and medical expenses;
(4) Child care, transportation and other expenses necessary for employment;
(5) Age or physical infirmity of resident family members;
(6) Whether the person has paid or will pay counsel fees, or whether counsel will be provided by a private attorney on a contingent fee basis, an attorney pro bono, a legal services attorney, or some other attorney at no cost or a reduced cost to the affiant; and
(7) The consequences for the individual if a waiver of fees, costs or security is denied.
(d) When the information set forth in the affidavit or the evidence submitted in the action reveals that the person filing the affidavit is financially able to pay the fees and costs, the court or the family law master shall order the person to pay the fees and costs in the action.
(e) No other party in any proceeding may initiate an inquiry by motion or other pleading or participate in any proceeding relevant to the issues raised pursuant to this section.
(f) The making of an affidavit subject to inquiry under this section does not in any event give rise to criminal remedies against the affiant nor occasion any civil action against the affiant except for the recovery of costs as in any other case where costs may be recovered and the recovery of the value of services, if any, provided pursuant to this section. A person who has made an affidavit knowing the contents thereof to be false may be prosecuted for false swearing as provided by law.
Acts, 2006 Reg. Sess., Ch. 36.
(a) In any civil action, ten dollars;
(b) In civil actions in any court of limited jurisdiction, the same fees as are allowed in a circuit court for like actions.
The clerk shall include in the costs, for fees of the prosecuting attorney, the following:
(a) In cases of misdemeanor, or an action upon a bond for a violation of the license laws, fifteen dollars, of which five dollars of that amount shall be deposited in the courthouse facilities improvement fund created by section six, article twenty-six, chapter twenty-nine of this code;
(b) In a case of bastardy, ten dollars;
(c) In a suit or proceeding upon a forfeited recognizance upon behalf of the state, five percent upon the amount recovered and paid into the treasury;
(d) In cases of felony, thirty-five dollars, of which five dollars of that amount shall be deposited in the courthouse facilities improvement fund created by section six, article twenty-six, chapter twenty-nine of this code;
(e) In any other case of the state, if a different fee is not prescribed, ten dollars.
Such fees shall be collected and accounted for as provided in article one of this chapter, but shall not in any case be paid out of the county or state treasury.
(1) "Legal advertisement" means any notice, advertisement, statement, information or other matter required by law or court to be published.
(2) "Publication area" means the area or areas for which a legal advertisement is required by law or court to be made.
(3) "Once a week for two successive weeks" means two publications of a legal advertisement in a qualified newspaper occurring within a period of fourteen consecutive days with at least an interval of six full days within the period between the date of the first publication and the date of the second publication.
(4) "Once a week for three successive weeks" means three publications of a legal advertisement in a qualified newspaper occurring within a period of twenty-one consecutive days with at least an interval of six full days within the period between the date of the first publication and the date of the second publication and with at least an interval of six full days within the period between the date of the second publication and the date of the third publication.
(5) "Publication date" means the date on which a qualified newspaper is first placed in circulation.
(6) "General circulation" means not only a newspaper meeting the other qualifications specified in subsection (b) of this section and circulated among and of interest to the general public in the area in which it circulates, but also a newspaper meeting said other qualifications, the actual circulation of which throughout the publication area is large enough to give basis for a reasonable belief that publication of a legal advertisement in the newspaper will give effective notice to the residents of the publication area.
(b) Wherever the term "qualified newspaper" or "qualified newspapers" is used in this article, or the term "newspaper" or "newspapers" is used elsewhere in this code or in any other provision of law in connection with a legal advertisement as herein defined in this section, the terms shall be taken to mean only a newspaper or newspapers, as the case may be, published (unless otherwise expressly provided) in the state of West Virginia and which meet the following qualifications:
(1) Any newspaper shall be of regular issue and must have a bona fide, general circulation in the publication area. A newspaper is considered to be of regular issue if it is published regularly, as frequently as once a week, for at least fifty weeks during the calendar year as prescribed by its mailing permit; and has been published for at least one year immediately preceding the date on which the legal advertisement is delivered to the newspaper for publication. A newspaper is considered to be of bona fide, general circulation in the publication area if it meets the definition of "general circulation" as defined in this section and is circulated to the general public at a definite price or consideration.
(2) Any newspaper shall bear a title or name, consist of not less than four pages without a cover, and be a newspaper to which the general public resorts for passing events of a political, religious, commercial and social nature, and for current happenings, announcements, miscellaneous reading matters, advertisements and other notices.
(c) Notwithstanding any other provision of this code or law to the contrary, a qualified newspaper shall for all purposes be considered to be published where it is first placed in circulation.
(b) A Class I-0 legal advertisement shall be published one time, a Class II-0 legal advertisement shall be published once a week for two successive weeks, and a Class III-0 legal advertisement shall be published once a week for three successive weeks, in two qualified newspapers of opposite politics published in the publication area; or if two qualified newspapers of opposite politics are not published in the publication area or if two qualified newspapers of opposite politics published in the publication area will not publish the legal advertisement at the rates specified in section three of this article, the legal advertisement shall be published in one qualified newspaper published in the publication area; or if there is no qualified newspaper published in the publication area or if no qualified newspaper published in the publication area will publish the legal advertisement at the rates specified in section three of this article, the legal advertisement shall be published in one qualified newspaper published outside the publication area; or if no qualified newspaper is published outside the publication area or if no qualified newspaper published outside the publication area will publish the legal advertisement at the rates specified in section three of this article, the legal advertisement shall be posted in at least three public places in the publication area, one of which postings shall be in the county courthouse, at or near the front door thereof, if a county courthouse is located in the publication area and one of which postings shall be in the municipal office building or municipal office or offices, at or near the front door thereof, if the publication area is a municipality.
(c) A legal advertisement may be published in a qualified newspaper published on any day of the week except Sunday.
(d) All legal advertisements shall be published together in continuous columns on one page of the newspaper publishing them under a general heading styled "Legal Advertisements", unless the number or size of the legal advertisements requires the use of more than one page, in which event the legal advertisements shall be published as near as practicable in continuous columns on as many pages as necessary under the same heading as above required.
(1) Four cents per word if the qualified newspaper has a bona fide circulation of less than one thousand, except as provided in subdivision (1), subsection (a) of this section;
(2) Eight and one-half cents per word if the qualified newspaper has a bona fide circulation of one thousand to five thousand;
(3) Nine cents per word if the qualified newspaper has a bona fide circulation of more than five thousand but less than ten thousand;
(4) Ten cents per word if the qualified newspaper has a bona fide circulation of more than ten thousand and less than thirty thousand; or
(5) Eleven cents per word if the qualified newspaper has a bona fide circulation of thirty thousand or more: Provided, That on the first day of July in the year two thousand three and on the first day of July in the year two thousand four and on the first day of July in the year two thousand five the allowable rate per word in each of the classifications of qualified newspapers with reference to circulation as set forth in this subsection shall, for each classification, increase one cent per word over the prior year's rate.
(b) In computing the number of words in a legal advertisement, not set solid, the basis is the size of type in which legal advertising is set by the qualified newspaper making the publication and shall be computed at the legal rate as though the matter were solid type, that is to say, on the basis of eighty-four words to the single column inch in six point type and fifty-four words to the single column inch in eight point type and any other size type in proportion.
(c) In determining the cost of a legal advertisement which is to appear more than once in the same qualified newspaper, the cost for the first publication shall be computed as specified in subsections (a) and (b) of this section and the cost of the second and each subsequent publication shall be seventy-five percent of the cost of the first publication computed as specified in subsections (a) and (b) of this section.
(d) The average bona fide circulation stated by each qualified newspaper in the statement filed by the newspaper with the United States post office department in October of each year shall control the rate of circulation classification of the qualified newspaper for the period commencing the first day of July of each year until the last day of June of the following year. On or before the first day of November of each year, the publisher or proprietor of each newspaper desiring to publish any legal advertisement during the ensuing one year time period commencing the first day of July shall file with the secretary of state an affidavit stating the average bona fide circulation of the newspaper during the preceding twelve month time period ending the thirtieth day of September of each year and shall set forth sufficient facts in the affidavit to show whether the newspaper is a qualified newspaper. The average bona fide circulation stated in the affidavit by each qualified newspaper shall control the rate circulation classification for the ensuing twelve-month period commencing the first day of July. Any qualified newspaper for which the required affidavit is not filed on or before the first day of March of any calendar year shall be conclusively presumed to have for the ensuing twelve-month period commencing the first day of July of such year a bona fide circulation of less than one thousand. At the time a publisher or proprietor of a qualified newspaper files an affidavit with the secretary of state, as required by this subsection, the publisher or proprietor shall notify the clerk of the county commission and the board of education of the county in which the qualified newspaper is published of the circulation classification of the qualified newspaper and of the applicable rate for publishing legal advertisements in the qualified newspaper during the ensuing twelve-month period commencing the first day of July. If the qualified newspaper is published in a municipality, the publisher or proprietor shall at the same time also furnish the same notification to the clerk or recorder of the municipality.
(e) The rate charged for political advertising appearing in a newspaper at any time or times during the time period commencing thirty days prior to any primary or general election and ending the day following the election may not exceed one hundred five percent of the lowest commercial rate charged by the newspaper in which the political advertising appears.
(f) Nothing contained in this section prohibits qualified newspapers from charging less than the specified rates for any legal advertisement or from charging usual and customary rates for notarizing and producing additional copies of the affidavits and statements required in section four of this article.
(b) The affidavit of the publisher or proprietor of a qualified newspaper required by this section, together with a copy of the legal advertisement as published, constitutes prima facie evidence that the legal advertisement was published or published and posted as stated in the affidavit.
(b) Any person who shall knowingly file a false affidavit required by the provisions of this article shall be guilty of false swearing, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be punished as provided for that offense.
(c) Any qualified newspaper which shall knowingly charge any rates in excess of those specified in section three of this article, and any newspaper which shall knowingly charge any rates in excess of those specified in section six of this article, as the case may be, shall be liable to the person damaged thereby for treble damages.
Note: WV Code updated with legislation passed through the 2012 1st Special Session
Print